Electronic eyewear and display

ABSTRACT

Novel eyewear apparatuses including a display are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus also includes a frame. The frame includes a side region that includes an extendable arm. The first end of the extendable arm is attached to the frame and a second end of the extendable arm is attached to the display. The side region includes a cavity, where the extendable arm is adapted to retract back. The extendable arm is further adapted to extend out of the cavity and orient the display to be visually observable by a user of the eyewear apparatus. In another embodiment, the apparatus includes a concave reflective and an image source. The image source and the concave reflective surface are oriented to enable a user of the eyewear apparatus to view at least an image from the image source as reflected by the concave reflective surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/031,046, filed Jul. 10, 2018, and entitled “ELECTRONIC EYEWEAR ANDDISPLAY,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, which inturn is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/211,491,filed Mar. 14, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,042,186, and entitled“ELECTRONIC EYEWEAR AND DISPLAY,” which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No.61/792,702, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and entitled “ELECTRONIC EYEWEAR ANDDISPLAY,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/868,676, filed Aug. 22,2013, and entitled “ELECTRONIC EYEWEAR AND DISPLAY,” both of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to have methods, systems and apparatuses for providingelectronic eyewear that includes a display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, an eyewear apparatus includes a display and a frame.The frame includes a side region that includes an extendable arm. Thefirst end of the extendable arm is attached to the frame and a secondend of the extendable arm is attached to the display. The side regionincludes a cavity, where the extendable arm is adapted to retract back.The extendable arm is further adapted to extend out of the cavity andorient the display to be visually observable by a user of the eyewearapparatus.

In another embodiment, an eyewear apparatus includes a concavereflective and an image source. The image source and the concavereflective surface are oriented to enable a user of the eyewearapparatus to view at least an image from the image source as reflectedby the concave reflective surface. In one embodiment, the apparatusincludes a lens. The concave reflective surface can be integral with thelens. In another embodiment, the apparatus includes a frame. The concavereflective surface can be in the frame. In another embodiment, the frameincludes an extendable arm with a first end and a second end. The firstend of the extendable arm is configured to be attached to the frame, andthe concave reflective surface is configured to be in the vicinity ofthe second end. Yet another embodiment includes a lens, an additionalimage source and an additional concave reflective surface, with theadditional source and surface being located at opposite sides of thelens. In one embodiment, the eyewear apparatus is in a module.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrates by way ofexample the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an electronic eyewear that includes a display, according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an alternate view of the electronic eyewear of FIG. 1 thatincludes the display, according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows the electronic eyewear of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein thedisplay is at least partially embedded in a temple region of theelectronic eyewear, according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows an electronic eyewear that includes a display, according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate view of the electronic eyewear of FIG. 4 thatincludes the display, according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows the electronic eyewear of FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein thedisplay is at least partially embedded in a temple region of theelectronic eyewear, according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of an electronic display apparatus foreyewear that includes a concave reflective surface and an image source.

FIG. 8A-8B show different embodiments of an electronic display apparatusfor eyewear that includes an extendable arm that is extended.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of an electronic display apparatus foreyewear that includes an extendable arm that is retracted.

Same numerals in FIGS. 1-9 are assigned to similar elements in all thefigures. Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with referenceto FIGS. 1-9. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat the detailed description given herein with respect to these figuresis for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond theselimited embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment includes an electronic eyewear with a display. Theelectronic eyewear includes a side region and a front region, and thedisplay can be attached to the side region of the eyewear. In oneembodiment, the side region includes a temple region. In anotherembodiment, the eyewear includes a front region with two sides, and twoside regions, one connected to each side of the front region.

In different embodiments, an electronic eyewear can be, for example, apair of sunglasses, fit-over glasses, prescription glasses, safetyglasses, goggles, such as ski goggles, and “frame-less” glasses; anauxiliary frame, and a swim mask; and an electronic apparatus wearableby a user in the vicinity of one or both eyes of the user.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes at least a frontregion and a side region. The front region is configured to be in frontof the user wearing the electronic eyewear. The side region isconfigured to be on a side of the user wearing the electronic eyewear.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an electronic eyewear according to oneembodiment. For this embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes a frame100 that includes a pair of temples or arms 102, 104; and a lens holderadaptable to hold one or more lenses (for example, lenses 160, 162). Inone embodiment, a “frame-less” glasses can be an eyewear with two lensesconnected by a bridge, with each lens also connected to an arm ortemple.

While two lenses 160, 162 are depicted in FIG. 1, the electronic eyewearcan include a single eye-piece forming goggles rather than the standardlenses of glasses. As an example, the lens could be a single wrap-aroundlens. For an embodiment, the frame 100 is adaptable to hold one or morelenses, such as, lenses 160, 162.

In another embodiment, the frame 100 includes a connecting piece betweenlenses such as in a pair of frame-less glasses.

As shown, the frame 100 further includes a display 110. For example, atleast one of the arms 102, 104 includes a region 120 that includes anextendable arm 125, wherein a first end of the extendable arm 125 isattached to the temple region 120 and a second end of the extendable arm125 is attached to the display 110.

An embodiment includes an eyewear apparatus. The eyewear apparatusincludes a frame, and a display. For an embodiment, the frame includes aside region that includes an extendable arm, wherein a first end of theextendable arm is attached to the frame and a second end of theextendable arm is attached to the display.

For an embodiment, a temple region 120 or a side region of the eyewearincludes a cavity, wherein the extendable arm 125 is adapted to retractback to the cavity, and can fit within or substantially within thecavity. For an embodiment, the extendable arm 125 is further adapted toextend out of the cavity and orient the display 110 to be visuallyobservable by a user of the eyewear apparatus. For an embodiment, theextendable arm 125 includes at least one rotatable joint, allowingadjustment of a distance between the display 110 and the one or morelenses 160, 162.

For an embodiment, the extendable arm 125 includes at least onerotatable joint, allowing adjustment of an orientation of the display110 relative to the one or more lenses. For an embodiment, theextendable arm 125 includes at least one rotatable joint, allowingadjustment of an orientation of a viewing plane of the display 110relative to a frontal plane of the one or more lenses, or relative to afrontal plane of the lens holder. For an embodiment, a retracted stateof the electronic eyewear includes the extendable arm 125 retracted intothe cavity. For an embodiment, a user-activated action causes theextendable arm 125 to pop out, or to extend out, of the cavity. In oneembodiment, the extendable arm 125 can be user-adjusted.

For an embodiment, an extendable arm includes two or more pieces,wherein at least two of the pieces are connected at endpoints, whereinthe pieces rotatably adjust at the endpoints. For an embodiment, a firstpiece rotatably connected to the temple region and a last piece isrotatably connected to the display.

For an embodiment, at least one conductor extends through the extendablearm, electronically connecting the display to a controller locationwithin the eyewear.

For an embodiment, the display 110 includes an LCD display.

For an embodiment, the display 110 includes a projection screen. For anembodiment, the apparatus further includes a projector for displayingimages on the projection screen.

For an embodiment, the apparatus further includes light-guide opticalelement operative to display images on the display.

In one embodiment, the different attributes of the different embodimentsof the electronic eyewear can be programmable, such as via switches onthe corresponding eyewear, or wirelessly via a remote control, or both.Examples of switches on a frame can include a knob, a slider or a smalldial on the corresponding frame to program the electronic eyewear.

FIG. 2 shows an alternate view of the electronic eyewear of FIG. 1 thatincludes the display, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows the electronic eyewear of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein thedisplay is at least partially embedded in, or concealed within, a templeregion of the electronic eyewear, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an electronic eyewear that includes a display, according toan embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate view of the electronic eyewear of FIG. 4 thatincludes the display, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows the electronic eyewear of FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein thedisplay is at least partially embedded in, or concealed within, a templeregion of the electronic eyewear, according to an embodiment.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes at least one focusinglens between the display and an eye of the wearer. The focusing lenshelps focus the image from the display to the eye. The focusing lens canbe a Fresnel lens. In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes atleast one lens as in a lens of a pair of glasses; and the focusing lensis built into the at least one lens.

In one embodiment, electronics for the electronic eyewear is in aneyewear frame. In another embodiment, the electronic eyewear with thecorresponding electronics, such as the control circuitry, can be in asecondary frame, which is attachable to a primary frame via differentmechanisms, such as magnets. The primary frame can include a pair ofprescription lenses. To illustrate, there can be a housing or a chassisholding prescription lenses, with the electronic eyewear provided on theoutside, such as via a clip-on.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear with the corresponding controlcircuitry and power source can be in a fit-over frame that can fit overanother frame.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear can include prescriptionlenses providing focal correction, such as bi-focal, tri-focal, prism,etc.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear is rechargeable or includespower sources, such as a battery, to allow the eyewear to perform itsoperation over a duration of time, such as a few hours.

One embodiment further includes monitoring if the user is wearing theeyewear. In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes a timesensor that times at least one of how long and how frequently the userwears the eyewear. For an embodiment, the time sensor is attached to,integral with, or being a part of the electronic eyewear. For anembodiment, information related to the monitoring/sensing of the eyewearis stored, such as in the eyewear. For an embodiment, after stored, themonitoring information can be later retrieved, for example, by a doctoror physician to allow the physician to determine or gauge the compliance(e.g. duration of time of wearing the eyewear) by the user with atherapy suggested by the doctor or physician. The retrieval can beperformed through a wire connection (e.g. via an electrical connector atthe eyewear) or wirelessly (e.g. via an infrared sensor or a wirelesstransceiver at the eyewear).

In one embodiment, a motion detector is used as the “being worn” sensor.A threshold can be set, such that if the amount of motion exceeds thethreshold, the eyewear is assumed to be worn. The motion detector can,for example, be achieved by a mechanical means or an accelerometer.

In another embodiment, the “being worn” sensor includes two thermalsensors. One sensor can be at approximately the middle or close to oneend of an arm, such as in a region that touches the head of the userwearing the eyewear. The other sensor can be at the other end of thearm, such as close to lens holder of the eyewear. If the temperaturedifferential between the two sensors is beyond a certain preset value,the eyewear would be assumed to be worn. The differential is presumed tobe caused by a person wearing the eyewear.

In yet another embodiment, the eyewear includes at least one hinge, andthe hinge is configured to allow an arm of the eyewear to be foldable.In one embodiment, the “being worn” sensor includes a stress sensor atthe hinge of the arm. The assumption is that when the eyewear is worn,the hinge is typically slightly stretched because typically, the widthof the head of the user is slightly wider than the width between thearms when the two arms are in the extended positions. If the value ofthe stress sensor is beyond a certain preset value, the eyewear would beassumed to be worn.

In a further embodiment, the “being worn” sensor can be a switch. Forexample, at the hinge between an arm and its corresponding lens holder,there is a switch. When that temple is fully extended outwards, theswitch is turned on. The switch can be a pin. When the temple is fullyextended outwards, the pin is pressed. When both arms are fully extendedoutwards, in one embodiment, the eyewear would be assumed to be worn bythe user.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear includes one or more lensesbased on liquid crystal lens technologies.

In one embodiment, the electronic eyewear may be secured from the backwith a functional strap, such as a lanyard. In one embodiment, thelanyard may contain the electronics, such as control circuitry and powersource, of the electronic eyewear. This can provide additional ergonomicqualities and securing for active users.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of an electronic display apparatus foreyewear 200 includes a concave reflective surface 202 and an imagesource 204. The image source 204 could include a liquid crystal display(LCD) or a light emitting diode type of display (LEDD), with a circuitboard having electronics attached. The image source 204 and the concavereflective surface 202 can be configured to be oriented to enable a userof the electronic display apparatus to view at least an image from theimage source 204 as reflected by the concave reflective surface 202.

In one embodiment, the electronic display apparatus for eyewear isadapted or configured for an electronic eyewear.

In one embodiment, the electronic display apparatus for eyewear includesat least one lens. In one embodiment, at least a portion of a concavereflective surface is integrated with the at least one lens. Forexample, the at least one lens can include a transparent portion and theat least a portion of the concave reflective surface. In anotherembodiment, such as for a pair of sunglasses, the at least one lens caninclude a near-transparent portion and the at least a portion of theconcave reflective surface. In yet another embodiment, the at least onelens can include a substantially non-reflective portion (which could betransparent or near-transparent) and the at least a portion of theconcave reflective surface.

At least a portion of the concave reflective surface and at least aportion of the image source can be located on opposite sides of the atleast one lens. For example, the at least a portion of the concavereflective surface is at an upper portion of the at least one lens,while the at least a portion of the image source is at the vicinityaround a lower portion of the at least one lens. In another example, atleast a portion of the concave reflective surface and at least a portionof the image source are located in the vicinity on a same side of the atleast one lens.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one lens is configured to belocated between the image source and the concave reflective surface, andis configured to enable a user of the eyewear apparatus to view at leastan image from the image source as reflected by the concave reflectivesurface.

In one embodiment, the electronic display apparatus for eyewear includesa frame, and at least a portion of the concave reflective surface is inor integral with the frame. The apparatus also can include at least onelens. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the concave reflectivesurface, or at least a portion of the image source, or both, are at theframe. The at least a portion of the concave reflective surface, and theat least a portion of the image source both can be located in thevicinity of the opposite sides of the at least one lens. For example,the at least a portion of the concave mirror is at the frame, adjacentto an upper portion of the at least one lens; and the at least a portionof the image source is at the frame, adjacent to a lower portion of theat least one lens.

FIGS. 8a and 8b show different embodiments of an electronic displayapparatus for eyewear including an extendable arm that are extended. Forexample, FIG. 8a shows an embodiment 220 of an electronic displayapparatus for eyewear that includes an extendable arm 222. Theelectronic display apparatus for eyewear can also includes a frame witha side region, wherein at least a portion of an image source is in theside region of the frame. The extendable arm has a first end and asecond end. The first end of the arm 222 is configured to be attached tothe frame, and a concave reflective surface 224 is configured to beattached in the vicinity of the second end. In one embodiment, the frameincludes one or more lenses, such as in a pair of glasses.

In FIG. 8a , the extendable arm 222 is configured to be on the inside ofthe frame, and when extended, the concave reflective surface 224 ispositioned behind at least one of the lenses, in between the at leastone lenses and the user wearing the frame.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8a , the extendable arm 222 includes apivot 226. The pivot 226 can be configured to be behind the pivot 228 ofthe frame when the frame 228 is worn.

In another embodiment, an extendable arm is on the outside of a frame,and when extended, the concave reflective surface is in front of atleast one of the lenses. In this embodiment, the at least one of thelenses is located in between the concave reflective surface and the userwhen the extendable arm is extended.

In one embodiment, the electronic display apparatus for eyewear includesmore than one image source. In another embodiment, the electronicdisplay apparatus for eyewear includes more than one concave reflectivesurfaces. For example, each image source can be configured to operatewith a corresponding concave reflective surface. For each image sourceand the corresponding concave reflective surface, at least a portion ofthe image source and at least a portion of its corresponding concavereflective surface can be located in the vicinity of the opposite sidesof at least one lens.

FIG. 8b shows an embodiment 320 of an electronic display apparatus foreyewear including an extendable arm 322 that is extended. FIG. 9 showsan embodiment, 420 of an electronic display apparatus for eyewearincluding an extendable arm 422 that is retracted.

In one embodiment, an electronic display apparatus for eyewear isconfigured to be in a module. FIGS. 8A and 8B show such an example. Inthe example shown in FIG. 8a , the module 220 can include an imagesource, such as a LCD 230, with circuit boards, 232 and 234, and abattery 236. In another embodiment, the module can be integrated into aframe, such as the frame of a pair of glasses.

The various embodiments, implementations and features of the inventionnoted above can be combined in various ways or used separately. Thoseskilled in the art will understand from the description that theinvention can be equally applied to or used in other various differentsettings with respect to various combinations, embodiments,implementations or features provided in the description herein.

Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will become obviousto those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details. The description and representation herein arethe common meanings used by those experienced or skilled in the art tomost effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled inthe art. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the present invention.

Also, in this specification, reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment can beincluded in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances ofthe phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor areseparate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. Further, the order of blocks in process flowcharts ordiagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do notinherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations inthe invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from a consideration of this specification or practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An eyewear frame for a user comprising: at least a first lens; at least a first image source, the first image source including at least a circuit board having at least an electrical component attached thereon; at least a first light-guide optical element configured for guiding at least a first image from the at least a first image source to the user; and at least a strap configured to secure the eyewear frame at least from the back of the frame, with the at least a strap providing ergonomic qualities and security, wherein at least an electrical component is inside the at least a strap.
 2. An eyewear frame as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least a first image source is configured to be in the vicinity of an upper region of the at least a first lens.
 3. An eyewear frame as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least an electrical component inside the strap includes a power source.
 4. An eyewear frame as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least an electrical component inside the strap is configured to be electrically coupled at least to the at least a first image source. 